Chapter 2: NET Team Leader Basics

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the basic responsibilities and training of Team Leaders, begin painting a landscape of potential Team Leader resources, and outline what Team Leaders can expect from staff at PBEM. The chapter concludes with a checklist for setting up the Team Leader role.

This chapter does not cover the election or qualifications of Team Leaders. Candidates for a Team Leader position will find those rules in the NET Guidelines.

Chapter 2 learning objectives

• Understand which government rules shape Portland NET.
• Recognize the role of government agencies in what Portland NET does.
• Know who the PBEM Community Resilience Team is.
• Learn the City of Portland's policies on equity and inclusion.
• Learn what information you'll find on a NET roster.

Governance of Portland NET

City of Portland Codes and Rules

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Sidebar: Portland City Code Chapter 3.124.090

The portion of City Code concerning NET Team Leaders reads: A. All NET members shall be immediately responsible to a team leader and thereafter the Director. The Director may dismiss or remove a NET Leader. B. NET leaders may designate one assistant for each five NET members or fraction thereof for purposes of maintaining adequate supervision of NET members during training or deployment. C. NET leaders are responsible for the organization, ongoing training, communication with and operational safety of the NET members assigned to their teams. D. NET leaders shall attend regularly scheduled meetings for the purposes of training and communicating with NET members. E. NET leaders shall evaluate the performance of NET members and may recommend to the Director the dismissal or removal of NET members.

Portland Fire & Rescue began piloting the NET program in 1994. City Council later created Code governing Portland NET on June 29, 2011. You can view the text of the code that deals specifically with NET Team Leaders in the sidebar to the right.

This part of Portland City Code establishes Portland NET, authorizes the Director of PBEM (or their designee) to define training standards and standards of conduct for NET members, and permits the Director of PBEM to designate specific NET volunteers as "Team Leaders". The code goes on to indemnify NET volunteers as pursuant to Oregon State statute ORS 30.285.

Following from the authority granted in City Code Chapter 3.124.070, the PBEM Director approves and signs the NET Guidelines, a blueprint and catalog of standards for the NET program. NET Team Leaders and PBEM published the first Guidelines on November 19, 2013.

The Guidelines include two particularly important sections for NET Team Leaders. First, Section 600 ("Leadership") describes how a NET elects a Team Leader, how a Team Leader appoints Assistant Team Leaders, and a recommended course of training. This Workbook does not repeat those details here, but Team Leaders are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the NET Guidelines in general and Section 600 in particular.

Second, the PBEM Volunteer Code of Conduct establishes the minimum standards of civility and responsibility PBEM expects from all NET volunteers. Every NET volunteer agrees to and signs the Code of Conduct when they enter Basic NET Training. Because the PBEM Volunteer Code of Conduct references the City's Code of Ethics, volunteers must adhere to both.

NET Team Leaders may think of the Code of Conduct as the minimum standards. NETs may establish further ground rules for their team as long as those additional rules do not contradict the PBEM Volunteer Code of Conduct.

Other Agencies

FEMA, the State of Oregon, Multnomah County, and other government agencies only have small roles to play in Portland NET.

• Though FEMA publishes the CERT curriculum used in NET, FEMA sets no standards or governance for CERT volunteer training. FEMA expects local jurisdictions to manage their own CERT programs, and FEMA does not audit CERT programs. They do provide grant funding that PBEM uses primarily to purchase NET equipment and pay trainers.

• The State of Oregon also has no role managing CERT programs directly. However, as of 2023, Oregon's Office of Emergency Management does coordinate and track CERT programs in the state. There are also state statutes that influence NET programming but are not actively administered.

• Multnomah County supports Portland NET by partnering on grant applications and providing instructor resources and technical support. The County also oversees policy areas such as health and wellness, and mass care and shelter. Multnomah County administers the local Medical Reserve Corps, a team of volunteer medical professionals prepared to respond in a disaster or a major emergency. Finally, Multnomah County has the lead on the Portland area's TeenCERT program in partnership with Portland Public Schools.

Though PBEM interfaces with many other local government agencies (such as Metro or local drainage districts) their activities rarely involve NET directly. Portland Public Schools (PPS) is a noted exception: Portland NET occasionally trains PPS employees in Basic NET and assists with their Youth Disaster Academy program, while PPS provides training space and hosts several BEECNs. Many school administrators also work directly with their local NET on disaster preparedness and response planning.

What to know about PBEM

PBEM employee at the site of a downed tree on December 10, 2015.

PBEM has three basic missions: manage Portland's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and keep it ready for activation, help Portland bureaus plan for a disaster through Continuity of Operations Planning, and promote community resilience. Staff responsible for the third mission are organized into the Community Resilience Team (CRT). PBEM volunteers such as NETs are most likely to interact with PBEM, and the City of Portland, through the CRT.

As of August 2024, PBEM CRT staff positions most relevant to what NETs do include the following:

• Rachit Nerwal, interim Planning Chief: Rachit supervises the CRT, with Jeremy and Regina as direct reports. Rachit works on broad policy issues and interfaces with other government agencies.
• Regina Ingabire, Community Resilience Outreach Manager: Regina is in charge of Portland's Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) program. Her primary mission is to promote disaster awareness and preparedness among historically underserved communities.
• Jeremy Van Keuren, Community Resilience Manager: Jeremy oversees PBEM volunteer programs, policies, advanced training, and volunteer deployments and operations. Together, Glenn and Jeremy oversee BEECN and NET.
• Glenn Devitt, Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) Program Specialist: Glenn resolves frontline customer service issues for the CRT (such as badging), coordinates outreach volunteers, and puts together Basic NET classes. Together, Glenn and Jeremy oversee BEECN and NET.

It is not unusual for PBEM volunteers to engage directly with PBEM's Public Information Officer as well, though that position is not allocated to the CRT. The current PBEM PIO is Jaymee Cuti.

All PBEM staff are listed at: https://www.portland.gov/pbem/about-pbem-team

At any given time, many City employees and contractors also support the Community Resilience Team by undertaking business outreach, conducting research, creating maps, instructing volunteer classes, scheduling venues, designing printed materials, and much more. As a general rule, a NET Team Leader can send any service questions they have to NET@portlandoregon.gov.

Equity and Inclusion for Portland NET

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Team Leader team rosters

Team Leaders have access, on request, to their team's roster with important information about each individual volunteer. Team Leaders should never distribute the personal contact information of their team members unless approved by the individual team members themselves. If sharing contact information is necessary to team organization (and it often is), approval can be sufficiently accomplished by emailing all members and asking anyone who doesn't want their information shared with the group to opt out (and give them at least a week to respond).

A standard roster will include the data fields listed in the table below. PBEM protects the personal data of volunteers carefully. PBEM's policy is only to provide sensitive data fields in a roster (such as address or phone number) on special request, and a Team Leader must justify its use subject to approval of PBEM staff.

There is an expanding table here. Click the [Expand] link below to see it.

Excel Column Header	Explanation
FirstName
LastName
EmailAddress
SecondaryEmailAddress	(optional) In case the first one fails.
YearsSinceVolunteerDateJoined	Years since the person applied as a PBEM volunteer. They may or may not have taken training yet; see VolunteerStatus.
VolunteerStatus	Applicant: The individual has completed the application form for NET and/or BEECN and not yet proceeded further. Take into consideration the preceding column, YearsSinceVolunteerDateJoined. In the fourth quarter of 2023 PBEM conducted a mass survey of NETs and deactivated folks who did not respond, or did not wish to recommit to active participation; this significantly cleaned up team rosters. In Process: These are your second-highest priority recruits to mentor! Indicates a NET Applicant who has completed the Online Preparedness Quiz which required two hours of video viewing plus a 25-question quiz. So these people have already made an investment in their training, and should be encouraged. At this stage they are eligible to sign up for in-person Basic NET Training in MyImpactPage under 'Opportunities'; they receive an email from PBEM when a class cohort is scheduled. (see NET Role > BNT Enrollee below) Accepted: The individual is an active volunteer with a NET and/or BEECN Role (see below). Volunteers who retire or move are not included in rosters distributed to TLs.
Q - Neighborhood where you live	Your Team(s).
Q - (optional) Second neighborhood where you spend much time and might respond	(optional) When people select your Team as their secondary affiliation, we do not include them in your roster. They should be contacted by their primary Team Leader. Though of course we encourage the volunteer to contact you too.
CF - Program Status - BEECN Assignment	(optional) If present, the volunteer has been trained as a BEECN volunteer and is assigned to a site. [map]
CF - Skills - Amateur Ham Radio Call Sign	(optional) The volunteer's amateur radio license call sign.
Q - NET Role	In ascending order:
	Designation	Description	Background checked	Indemnified and deployable by PBEM	Eligible for advanced NET trainings
	[blank]	Applied, but has not completed the Online Preparedness Quiz, which is required to register for Basic NET Training.	No	No	No
	Applicant	Has applied to the program but not yet completed NET or BEECN training.	No	No	No
	BNT Enrollee	Is enrolled in a current or scheduled Basic NET Training (BNT) cohort. These are your top priority recruits to mentor! PBEM appreciates your help on-boarding them with your Team while they are still training.	No	No	No
	ATV (Affiliated Team Volunteer)	Has been appointed to a role/VSF by the Team Leader, but has not completed any PBEM training (and probably does not plan to).	Yes	Yes, in a limited role	Some, in their specialty
	BEECN (BEECN volunteer)	Trained and assigned to staff a Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node. Has not taken Basic NET Training.	Yes	Yes, in BEECN role	Some
	TM (Team Member)	Has completed Basic NET Training.	Yes	Yes	Yes
	ARO (Amateur Radio Operator)	Has a HAM license and has completed NET ARO training.	Yes	Yes	Yes
	ATL (Assistant Team Leader)	Has completed Basic NET Training, and been appointed an ATL at the discretion of their TL.	Yes	Yes	Yes
	TL (Team Leader)	Has completed Basic NET Training and been elected TL by their Team.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Q - BEECN Role	In ascending order:
	Designation	Description	Background Checked	Indemnified and deployable by PBEM	Eligible for advanced NET trainings
	Interest Only	Receives non-confidential BEECN updates and training invitations.	No	No	No
	BV (BEECN Volunteer)	Trained and assigned to a BEECN site and authorized to operate it.	Yes	Yes	Some
	FSV (Fire Station Volunteer)	Assigned to operate BEECN UHF radios at a Fire Station. Not necessarily a HAM operator.	Yes	Yes	Some
	ARO (Amateur Radio Operator)	Has ham license and completed NET ARO training.	Yes	Yes	Yes
	BCA (BEECN Coordinator Assistant)	Backup coordinator for their designated BEECN site.	Yes	Yes	Some
	BC (BEECN Coordinator)	Primary coordinator for their designated BEECN site.	Yes	Yes	Some
HoursWorked - Lifetime or YTD	Hours logged.
LastLoginDate	The most recent date the individual logged in to the MyImpactPage system. [blank] means they have not logged in, so have not recorded any new hours since December, 2021.

Mysterious roster inclusions

It is not uncommon for a Team Leader to receive a roster and see names of members who they've had no contact with. If that happens, the Team Leader should first try to contact the person directly and ask if the member would still like to be a part of NET. If they do not, or if there is some other reason they have not replied (e.g. still in NET but moved to a different neighborhood) the Team Leader should report that information to PBEM staff for record correction.

If there is no reply, the Team Leader should escalate it to PBEM staff. PBEM staff will attempt to contact inside a week or two week time frame. If there is still no response, PBEM will remove the volunteer from active service and the Team Leader should expect not to see that name on future rosters unless the volunteer rejoins.